Sometime back I posted a thread asking if anyone had experienced the red coloration of their rear side reflectors fading. Mine are nearly clear now and while I would love that look in front, It is not what I had in mind in the rear.

One of the responses to my earlier post suggested it would be covered by my warranty. When I brought it in to the dealership for bent valve service, I asked them to take care of the tail light lenses. We picked the car up in the evening and were so wrapped up in the engine fiasco that we did not check to see how the shop had addressed the tail light issue.

When we read the service receipt, they had done nothing to the lenses and indicated that I needed to apply a product like Armorall.

I am open to suggestions as to how I get inside of the clear plastic cover to put Armorall onto the red plastic lens. I am beginning to question the technical skills of the maintenance staff at this dealership. See my other thread about the fiasco with the bent valve service.

But I digress. Back to the original question. Has anyone else noticed their tail light lenses fading at the upper half of the rear side reflectors?

 

I suggest calling the dealership back up and inquiring about it. When I took my car in for service (rear tailight began fogging) I told them that the rear window was incredibly hard to see out of. After the service was over I asked about the rear window and was told that they tried some things, but if it were to continue to a PITA to see out of then they would replace it under warranty. I've never gone through the issue you've been through, but I figure that they would cover this under warranty. And by the ArmorALL, I think they meant to apply it on the outside, not the inside.

Jaykkub

 

Yes, I understand what they were saying regarding the Armorall. The fading is occurring at the surface of the red reflectors that face sideways at the rear of the car inside of the clear tail light lens cover. Applying Armorall to the outside of the clear cover would do nothing to help the reflectors and I am not about to remove the tail lights and open up the clear lenses to apply the Armorall onto the red reflector lenses inside. That seems a bit beyond routine maintenance. Especially if one considers the red reflectors to be part of the cars DOT required "safety equipment." It would be like requiring owners to remove and dry clean their air bags every 25,000 miles to make sure they were fresh and ready to serve their intended purpose.

By way of comparison, my 1983 Nissan King Cab pick-up sits parked in the San Fernando sun 24/7 and its tail lights are still as red as the day I bought the truck. Granted they are a bit fogged from oxidation but the red color never left. I have never applied anything to them except soap and water.

My guess is the Service Technicians did not understand the nature of my complaint and I will need to show them my tail lights side-by-side with a new Honda. Mine are a washed out pink by comparison. The reflectors need to be replaced, on warranty, no cost.